Symptoms of psychiatric illness

Psychopathology The study of abnormal states of mind is known as psychopathology.

Primary and secondary With regard to symptoms, the terms primary and secondary are often used, simply referring to which occurred first.

Perception Perception is the process of becoming aware of what is presented through the sense organs. Perception can be attended to or ignored, but it cannot be terminated by an effort of will.

Illusions Illusions are misperceptions of external stimuli Illusions Illusions are misperceptions of external stimuli. They occur when the general level of sensory stimulation is reduced and when attention is not focused on the relevant sensory modalityis reduced, as in delirium, or when a person is anxious. Illusions have no diagnostic significance, but need to be distinguished from hallucinations

Hallucinations A hallucination is a percept that is experienced in the absence of an external stimulus to the corresponding sense organ. Hallucinations cannot be terminated at will.

hallucinations do occur in some otherwise healthy people hallucinations do occur in some otherwise healthy people. It is also common to experience them when falling asleep (،hypnagogic hallucinations) or on waking (hypnopompic hallucinations). These two types of hallucination may be either visual or auditory, the latter sometimes as the experience of hearing one's name called. Such hallucinations are common in narcolepsy ). Some recently bereaved people experience hallucinations of the dead person. Hallucinations can occur after sensory deprivation, in people with blindness or deafness.

Types of hallucination Hallucinations can be described in terms of their complexity and their sensory modality . The term elementary hallucination refers to experiences such as whistles, and flashes of light, whereas the term complex hallucination refers to experiences such as hearing voices or music, or seeing faces and scenes.

Auditory hallucinations may be experienced as noises, music, or voices Auditory hallucinations may be experienced as noises, music, or voices. Voices may be heard clearly or indistinctly; they may seem to speak words, phrases, or sentences. They may seem to address the patient directly (second-person hallucinations), or talk to one another, referring to the patient as 'he' or 'she' (third-person hallucinations).

Visual hallucinations may also be elementary or complex Visual hallucinations may also be elementary or complex. The content may appear normal or abnormal in Size.

Olfactory hallucinations and gustatory hallucinations are frequently experieneed together. The smells and tastes are often unpleasant. Tactile hallucinations maybe experienced as sensations of being touched, pricked. Sometimes they are felt as movements just below the skin, which the patient may attribute to insects, worms, or other small creatures burrowing through the tissues..

Pseudohallucinations This term refers to experiences that are similar to hallucinations but which do not meet all of the requirements of the definition, In the first meaning, pseudohallucination is not seeming to the patient to represent external reality, being located within the mind rather than in external space.. In the second meaning, the sensory experience appears to originate in the external world, but it seems unreal.

Delusions A delusion is a belief that is firmly held on inadequate grounds, that is not affected by rational argument or evidence to the contrary, and that is not a conventional belief that the person might be expected to hold given their educational, cultural, and religious background.

Types of delusions Several types of delusions are recognized, and they are categorized either by the characteristics or by the theme of the delusion Many of the terms are simply useful descriptors, but a few of them carry particular diagnostic implications.

Primary and secondary delusions A primary delusion is one that appears suddenly and with full conviction but without any mental events leading up to it. For example, a schizophrenic patient may be suddenly and completely convinced, for no reason and with no prior thoughts of this kind, that he is changing sex.

Disturbances of thinking processes Disturbances of the stream of thought In disturbances of the stream of thought, the amount and speed of thinking are changed. In pressure of thought, ideas arise in unusual variety and abundance and pass through the mind rapidly. In poverty of thought, the patient has a few thoughts, and these lack variety and richness and seem to move slowly through the mind. .

Thought block Sometimes the stream of thought is interrupted suddenly Thought block Sometimes the stream of thought is interrupted suddenly. The patient feels that his mind has gone blank, and an observer notices a sudden interruption in the patient's speech.

Disorders of the form of thought Disorder of the form of thought (also known as formal thought disorder) is usually recognized from speech and writing, but is sometimes evident from the patient's behaviour-for example, he may be unable to file papers under appropriate category headings..

Perseveration Perseveration is the persistent and inappropriate repetition of the same thoughts. The disorder is detected by examining the person's words or actions.

Flight of ideas In flight of ideas, thoughts and speech move quickly from one topic to another so that one train of thought is not carried to completion before another takes its place. The normal logical sequence of ideas is generally preserved, although ideas may be linked by distracting cues in the surroundings. Flight of ideas is characteristic of mania.

Loosening of associations This denotes a loss of the normal structure of thinking. To the interviewer the patient's discourse seems illogical, It does not become clearer when the patient is questioned further.

Neologisms are words or phrases invented by the patient, often to describe a morbid experience. Neologisms must be distinguished from incorrect pronunciation, the wrong use of words by people with limited education, the interviewer should ask the patient what he means by it. Neologisms occur most often in chronic schizophrenia

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